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The Real Cost of Menopause

Money in a the drain

Last week’s Harvard Business Review article covering how the menopause taboo negatively impacts women in the workplace got us thinking: if more people understood the “economics” of menopause and the $$ it costs them, would that change the status quo?

Buckle up and grab your (reading) glasses, ladies. Economics 101: The Hidden Cost of Menopause class is in session:

Show me the money gif

With roughly 50 million American women currently in menopause and another 2.2M woman entering every year, this is a topic we can no longer ignore. Whether you’re male, young, old, or cyborg, menopause is literally costing you – and the women in your life – billions of dollars.


WHAT WE’RE READING

This week was a busy one on the research & science of menopause front. Three interesting studies announced :

  1. Tulane University study shows hormone therapy could delay the onset of diabetes.
  2. Technical but informative read: calcium supplements may slow bone density decline for menopausal women, especially if started early.
  3. For every 1 in 3 women, determining the age of menopause is harder than it was 50 years ago. The culprit according to researchers? Increased hormone contraceptive use over time.

Up next? Economics 101: Menopause (Pt. 2) – Thought productivity losses were bad? Just wait till you hear how menopause costs our healthcare system.

Updated: May 12, 2020